Connector



July 23, 1968 M. c. GASKIEVICZ ET AL 3,394,339

CONNECTOR Filed Oct. 7, 1965 mm. mm.

vm N #9 m9 Om wk mm mm Mark C. Guskievlcz, Jack D. Stiller,

INVENTORS.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,394,339 CONNECTOR Mark C. Gaskicvicz, LosAngeles, and Jack D. Stiller, Santa Monica, Calif., assignors to Gray &Hnleguard, Santa Monica, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Oct.7, 1965, Ser. No. 493,934 Claims. (Cl. 339-176) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The present invention relates to electrical connectors forindividually interconnecting a large number of electrical conductors ina first cable wit-h respective conductors in a second cable. Inconnectors of this variety a first or plug portion of the connectormates with a second or socket portion of the connector. Each portion ofthe connector includes a large number of contacts attached to the endsof the conductors and sealed in the plug or socket. These contacts arepositioned to engage a complementary contact on the other portion of theconnector when the two portions are mated. One area of improvement overthe prior art is the means by which the individual contacts in eitherthe plug or socket portions or both may be removed from the connectorand/or replaced without any special tools, disassembling the connector,etc. This connector thereby makes it possible to very quickly and simplyrepair the connector or interconnect equipment.

It is frequently desirable to quickly and easily interconnect and/ordisconnect the individual conductors in a large set (for example in acable) with the individual conductors in another large set (for examplein a second cable). One means of accomplishing this is to provide a pairof mating connectors having pluralities of electrical contacts therein.The contacts in the two connectors are permanently attached to theirrespective conductors whereby mating the connectors completes theelectrical circuits.

Most installations require that the connectors be sealed againstmoisture, etc., to protect the various portions of the connector. Thisis normally accomplished by providing one or more insulating and/orsealing members in the connector for supporting the various contacts andconductors in position. The sealing members tightly engage the interiorof the connector and the exteriors of the conductors, contact, etc., andthereby form moisture proof barriers. In order to maintain the contactsand conductors properly positioned in the insulating and sealingmembers, a detent is provided for each contact. When the contact isforced into the insulating member the detent snaps into the lockedposition whereby the contact cannot be pulled out of the connector. Suchconnectors have been very successful for interconneting a large numberof individual conductors together. However, under some circumstances itmay become necessary to replace one or more of the conductors as aresult of damage thereto and/ or a change in the wiring.

Heretofore this has been accomplished by employing a special removaltool for releasing the detent. The tool is designed to slide along theside of the conductor and/ or contact until it engages and releases thedetent. In order to insure an effective sealing action and/or to insurea precise alignment of the contacts, it is essential that the clearancespace between the conductor or contacts and the sealing or insulatingmember be as small as possible. This in turn requires that the removaltool be very thin. As a result of being very thin, the tool is fairlysharp and the insulating and sealing members are frequently cut ordamaged. To avoid such damage it is necessary for the operator to bevery careful. As a con- 3,394,339 Patented July 23, 1968 sequence thechanging of the contacts is very time consuming and requires a certainamount of skill. It will thus be seen that the foregoing connectors havenot been entirely satisfactory for all applications.

The present invention provides mean for overcoming the foregoingdifficulties. More particularly the present invention rovides aconnector wherein the various contacts and/or conductors may be readilyreplaced in a very short time without in any way damaging any portion ofthe connector. This i accomplished by providing means for removing andreplacing the contacts and conductors without the necessity of employingany special tools.

In the single embodiment of the present invention disclosed herein, theindividual contacts are crimped to the ends of their respectiveconductors and then manually forced into passages extending through aresilient sealing member and an insulating member. After all of thecontacts are in position, means simultaneously compress a sealing memberagainst the conductors and force detents against each of the contactswhereby the contacts are locked in position. In the event one or more ofthe conacts and/0r conductors are to be replaced, the release means areactuated whereby all of the detents are released and the pressure on thesealing member is removed. The contacts and conductors may then bemanually moved past the detents and through the passages in theinsulating and sealing member. After all of the necessary changes havebeen made the release means are again tightened to look all of thecontacts in position.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome readily apparent from the following detailed description of thesingle embodiment thereof particularly when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to likeparts and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a pair of mating connectors embodying oneform of the invention, a portion of said connectors being broken away,

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of one of the connectorsin FIGURE 1 after it is separated from the mating connector, and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary end view of a connector of FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings in more detail the present invention isparticularly adapted to be embodied in a pair of mating connectors 10and 12. The two connectors 10 and 12 are effective to interconnect theindividual conductors in a first set 14 of conductors 16 with therespective individual conductors 20 in a second set '18. It is to :benoted that there may be a large number of conductors in each set andthat the conductors in a set may be incorporated into a cable or theymay be loose and separated from each other.

In the present instance, the first connector is a receptacle connector10 and is permanently mounted on a bulkhead 22 such as a firewall. Allof the conductors interconnected with the receptacle connector 10 aredisposed on one side of the firewall 22 (the left side as seen in FIGURE1). The second connector is a plug connector 12 adapted to be disposedon the opposite side of the firewall 22 (the right side as seen inFIGURE 1). The two connectors 10 and 12 will thereby be effective toindividually interconnect the conductors in sets 14 and 18 disposed onthe opposite sides of the firewall 22.

The receptacle connector 10 includes a receptacle housing 24 having amounting flange 26 that is secured to the bulkhead 22 by any suitablemeans such as bolts. A barrel 28 On the housing 24 extends through anopening in the firewall 22 so as to project from the right side thereof.A generally cylindrical passage 30 extends axially through the housing24.

An insert 32 is disposed in the passage extending through the housing24. The insert 32 is preferably a relatively rigid member and includesan electrically non-conductive material. A plurality of small passages34 extends through the insert 32 and form openings 36 and 38 in thefront and back faces 40 and 42 of the insert 32. Normally a separatepassage 34 is provided for each conductor 16 in the set 14. The exteriorof the insert 32 is preferably a snug fit in the barrel 28. An annularshoulder 44 may project into the passage 30 and engage the end of theinsert 32. The shoulder 44 thereby limits the travel of the insert 32through the barrel 28. Normally the shoulder 44 is positioned tomaintain the front face 40 recessed inwardly from the end of the barrel28. In addition a ring 46 of adhesive material may be provided in matingrecesses in barrel 28 and insert 32. This will lock the insert 32against the shoulder 44 and prevent movement of the insert 32 in eitherdirection.

Although only single conductors 16 and 18 are shown it should beunderstood that normally there are a large number of such conductors 16and 18 in each of the sets. The inner end of each conductor 16 in theset 14 has a contact 48 attached therethrough. In the present instancethis is accomplished by inserting the conductor 16 into the end of thecontact 48 and then crimping the contact 48 onto the conductor 16. Theopposite end of the contact 48 includes means such as a socket 50 forreceiving a complementary portion of a mating contact in the mating orplug connector 12. The diameter of the inner end of the passage 34 isreduced to form a shoulder. The shoulder engages the end of the contact48 and prevents its moving through the passage 34. In addition the innerend forms a guide which is aligned with the socket 50 in the connector48.

In order to prevent the contact 48 moving through the passages 34 in thereverse direction, a backup plate 52 may be provided. In the presentinstance the backup plate 52 is mounted in the passage 30 for slidingmovement towards and away from the backface 40 of the insert 32. Theplate 52 includes a plurality of openings 54 that are aligned with theopenings 38 in the insert 32 whereby the conductors 16 and contacts 48may pass through the plate 52 and into the passages 34 in the insert 32.

Detents 56 may be mounted on the backup plate 52 adjacent each of theopenings 54 for locking the contacts 48 in position. In the presentinstance, each detent 56 includes at least one finger 58 that is bondedto the backup plate 52. The ends of the fingers 58 are positioned toextend into the ends of the passages 34 and engage annular recesses 60in the contacts 48. The end of the passage 34 includes a clearance space62 into which the fingers 58 may move. The fingers 58 may spring intothe space 62 of their own accord and release the contact 48 for movementrearwardly through the passage 34. However normally the fingers willremain in the recess 68 and retain the contact 48 in position. A smallpulling force on conductor 16 causes the fingers 58 to be spread intothe annular recesses 62 whereby the contact 48 will be extracted.

It has been found desirable to provide an insert seal 64 between thebackup plate 52 and the insert 32. A plurality of openings are providedin the insert seal 64 in alignment with the openings '54 in the backupplate 52 and the passages 34 in the insert 32. When the backup plate 52is moved toward the insert 32, the insert seal 64 is compressed againstthe back face 42 of the insert.

The plug connector 12 is similar to the receptacle connector 10. Itincludes a plug housing 66 having a generally cylindrical barrel 68 witha generally cylindrical passage 70 extending therethrough. The outsidediameter of one end of the barrel 68 is reduced whereby the end fitssnugly into the end of the passage 30.

An engaging nut 72 or similar fastening means are rotatably mounted onthe outside of the barrel 68. A thrust ring 74 is provided to preventthe nut 72 moving 4 axially of the barrel 68. The interior of the nut 72is threaded so as to engage complementary threads on the exterior of thebarrel 28. As a result by rotating the nut 72, it will be possible toforce the plug barrel 68 into the receptacle barrel 28 and lock the twoconnectors 10 and 12 together.

An insert 76 similar to the first insert 32 is disposed in the passage70 so as to engage the shoulder 78. A ring 80 of adhesive material isalso provided to lock the insert against the shoulder. This insert 76 isalso a relatively rigid member of an electrically non-conductivematerial having a front face 82 and a rear face 84. A plurality ofpassages 86 extend axially through this insert 76 and form openings 88in the front face 82 aligned with the openings 36 in the front face 40of the first insert 32.

The end of each conductor 20 in the second set 18 has a contact 90attached thereto by some suitable means such as crimping. The end ofeach contact 90 includes means such as a pin 92 for engaging thecomplementary portion of the mating contact 48 in the receptacleconnector 10. The end of each passage 86 has a reduced diameter wherebya shoulder 94 is formed that engages the contact 90 and prevents itsmoving completely through the passage 86.

The pins 92 extend through the ends of the passage and beyond the frontface 82 of the insert 76. The exposed portion of the pin 92 may passthrough the openings 36 in the front face 40 of the first insert 32 andinto the socket 50 in the ends of the contacts. This will form a lowresistance electrical path between the conductors 16 and 20 in the twosets 14 and 18. When the nut 72 is tightened onto the barrel 28 thecontacts 48 and 90 will be locked in this condition.

In order to insure a seal between the two inserts 32 and 76 an innerface thrust seal 96 may be provided. This is a resilient member capableof being compressed between the front faces 40 and 82 when the nut istightened. The compressed sealing member 96 will thereby form aneffective moisture barrier that protects the contacts 48 and 90.

In order to secure the contacts 90 in position in the passages 86, abackup plate 98 may be provided inside of the barrel 68. This plate 98is slidably disposed in the passage 70 for movement towards and awayfrom the back face 84 of the insert 76. The plate 98 includes aplurality of openings aligned with the passages 86 in the insert 76. Asa consequence the conductors 20 with the contacts '90 thereon may extendthrough these openings and into the passages 86 in the insert 76. It hasbeen found desirable to provide an insert seal 100 on the backup plate98. When the backup plate 98 is forced against the insert 76, the seal100 will be tightly compressed whereby a moisture proof barrier will beformed.

Detent means 102 are mounted on the backup plate 98 for securing thecontacts 90 in position. The present detents 102 include spring fingers104 that are positioned to extend into the passages 86 in the insert 76and engage an annular recess 106 in the exterior of the contacts 90whereby the contacts 90 are locked in position. A clearance space 108may be provided in each passage 86 whereby the fingers 104 may move outof the recesses 106 and release the contacts 90 when the conductor 18 ispulled.

The backup plates 52 and 98 in the two connectors 10 and 12 aresubstatnially identical to each other and are free to slide axiallythrough their respective passages 30 and 70. In order to control theaxial positions of the backup plates, adjustable means such ascompression nuts 110 and 112 are mounted on the ends of each barrel 28and 68. Each of the nuts 110 and 112 is threaded onto its respectivebarrel 28 and 68 whereby the nuts may be moved axially along thebarrels. Each nut 110 and 112 is coupled to its respective backup plate52 and 98 by a ferrule 114 and 116 and a grommet seal 118 and 120.

The grommet seal 118 and 120 is a resilient member having an inner face122 and outer face 124. The inner faces 122 are adapted to engage theadjacent backup plate 52 or 98 and compress it towards the insert 76. Aplurality of passages 126 extend through the seals 118 and 120 and formopenings in front and rear faces. These passages 126 are substantiallyaligned with the passages in the inserts 32 and 76 whereby theconductors 16 and 20 may extend through the seal and into the inserts.

The inside diameters of the passages 126 are preferably a snug fitaround the exterior of the conductors. However, the passages 126 aresufficiently large and the seal sufiiciently resilient to permit aconductor and the connector on the end thereof to be forced through thepassage 126 without damaging the seal. In this regard it is desirablefor the friction to be large enough to prevent an accidental pulling ofthe conductors from the connector.

The ferrules 114 and 116 which are free to slide along the inside of thepassages 30 and 70 are disposed between the grommet seals 118 and 120and the barrels. One end of each ferrule 114 and 116 is disposedtherebetween a ring 128 and a shoulder 130 on the nuts 110 and 120. As aconsequence rotating the nuts 110 or 120 about the barrel will move theassociated ferrule 114 or 116 in an axial direction.

The second ends of the ferrule 114 and 116 include hooks 132 which fitsover the edges of the backup plates 52 and 98 whereby the plates may bemoved. The ferrules also include ramps 134 that slide against similarlytapered surfaces 136 on the exteriors of the seals 118 and 120.

It can be appreciated that when a nut 110 or 120 is tightened the ramp134 on the associated ferrule will engage the tapered exterior 136 andforce the grommet seal, inwardly and toward the backup plate. As thismotion progresses the backup plate 52 or 98 and insert seal 64 or 100will be forced against the rear face of the insert 32 or 76. This inturn will force the fingers 58 or 104 in the detents 56 or 102 carriedby the backup plates to move through the passages and into the recesseson the contacts 48 or 90. At some point in the tightening process, theramp 136 will begin to compress the grommet seal radially inwardly. Asthis compression builds up the seal will also be forced inwardly againstthe conductor and form a moisture proof barrier.

If the nut 120 is loosened it will move into the position shown inFIGURE 2. During the loosening process the hook 132 will engage thebackup plate 98 and pull it away from the insert 76. At the same timethe compression seal 120 will be released so that the backup plate 98and seal 100 can move axially. During this movement the ends of thefingers 104 will be withdrawn and spring outwardly into the clearancespaces 108 and disengage the recesses in the contacts. As a consequencethe conductor and contact may be pulled through the grommet 112 so as tobe replaced.

It will thus be seen that a connector is provided wherein the contactsand conductors are securely locked in position. However in the event itis desired to change or replace a contact it is not necessary to employ'a special tool. Instead the compression nut 110 or 120 may be loosened.This will then release the detents 56 or 102 and the grommet seal 118 or120. The conductor and contact may then be removed by manually pullingon the conductor. The new contact may thenbe manually forced through thepassage in the seal and into passage. The detent will then lock thecontacts in position. Following this the nut is tightened until the sealand detents are firmly locked in position. The grommet seal 118 and 120provide enough friction on the conductors 16 and 20- to preclude theirbeing accidentally pulled out of the seals.

We claim:

1. A connector for being interconnected with a mating connector, saidconnector including the combination of a connector housing for beingcoupled to the mating connector,

an insert in said housing,

a resilient sealing member disposed in said housing,

a plurality of aligned passages extending through said insert andsealing member,

a contact and conductor disposed in each of said passages,

detents on each of said contacts,

a support member disposed inside of the housing between the insert andsealing member for movement between a first position and a secondposition,

a separate retainer on said support member for each contact, saidretainers engaging the detents when the support member is in one of saidpositions and thereby locking the contacts and conductors in thepassages, said retainers disengaging the detents when in the other ofsaid positions and releasing the contacts and connectors, and

means coupled to said members for moving the support member into thefirst position and compressing the sealing member against theconductors.

2. A connector for being interconnected with a mating connector, saidconnector including the combination of a connector housing for beingcoupled to the mating connector,

an insert of insulating material disposed in the housing.

a resilient sealing member disposed in said housing,

a plurality of aligned passages in said insert and sealing member,

a contact disposed in each of said passages and having detents thereon,

a support member disposed inside of the housing between the insert andsealing member for movement between a first position adjacent the insertand a second position therein separated from the insert,

fingers on said support member for each contact, said fingers extendinginto said passages and engaging the detents when the support member isin the first position and thereby locking the contacts in the passages,said fingers disengaging the detents when in the other of said positionsand releasing the contacts, and

means on said housing for moving the support member between the firstand second positions, said means being effective to compress the sealingmember when the support member is in the first position.

3. A connector for being interconnected with a mating connector, saidconnector including the combination of a connector housing -for beingcoupled to the mating connector,

an insert of insulating material disposed in the housing,

a resilient sealing member disposed in said housing,

a plurality of aligned passages extending through said insert andsealing member,

a contact and conductor disposed in each of said passages,

detents on each of said contacts,

a plurality of fingers movable between a first position and a secondposition,

said fingers engaging the detents when in the first position and therebylocking the contacts and conductors in the passages, said fingersdisengaging the detents when in the second position and releasing thecontacts and connectors, and

means coupled to the fingers and the sealing member for moving thefingers between the first and second positions, said means beingeffective to compress the sealing member when the fingers are in thesecond position.

4. A connector for being interconnected with a mating connector, aconnector including the combination of an insert of an insulatingmaterial,

a plurality of contacts disposed in said insert,

a detent on each of said contacts,

a support member movable between an inner position adjacent the insertand an outer position remote from the insert, and

at least one finger for each contact mounted on the an insert,

' support member for movement therewith, said fingers a plurality ofcontacts disposed in said insert and havengaging the detent on itsrespective contact and ing detents thereon, locking the contact inposition when the support each of said contacts being movable betweenfirst and member is in the inner position and spreading and secondpositions, said detents being disposed in said releasing said detentswhen the support member is insert when the contacts are in the firstposition, in the outer positions. a support member disposed adjacent theinsert for 5. A connector for being interconnected with a matingmovement toward and away from the insert, and

connector, a connector including the combination of a separate retaineron said support member for each an insert of an insulating material, 10of said contacts, each of said retainers extending into a plurality ofpassages in said insert, the insert and engaging the detent on itsrespective a contact disposed in each of said passages, contact when thesupport member is moved toward a detent on each of said contacts, saidinsert member to thereby lock the contact in a support member movablebetween an inner position the first position, said retainers disengagingthe adjacent the insert and an outer position remote from detents andreleasing the contacts when the support the insert, member moves awayfrom the insert.

at least one finger for each contact mounted on the 9. A connector forbeing interconnected with a mating support member for movementtherewith, said fingers connector, said connector including thecombination of when in the inner position extending into the passages aninsert. of insulating materials, and being compressed against the detentand locking a plurality of openings in said insert, the contacts inposition, said fingers when in the a contact disposed in each of saidopenings, said consecond position being spread beyond said detents andtacts being adapted for movement into an operative releasing thecontacts. position in its respective opening,

6. A connector for being interconnected with a mating a detent on eachof said contacts, and

connector, said connector including the combination of a retainer foreach contact movable between first and a connector housing for beingcoupled to the mating second positions, said retainers when in one ofsaid connector, positions extending at least partially into the openaninsert disposed in said housing, ings to engage the detents and lock thecontacts in aplurality of contacts disposed in said insert, theoperative position, said retainers when in the a support member in saidhousing movable between a other of said positions disengaging thedetents and first position adjacent the insert and a secondposireleasing the contacts for movement out of the opertion separatedfrom the insert, ative position.

a separate retainer for each contact carried by said 10. A connector forbeing interconnected with amating support member for movement therewith,each of connector, said connector including the combination of saidretainers when in one of said positions engaging an insert of insulatingmaterials, its respective contact and locking said contacts in aplurality of contacts disposed in said insert for position saidretainers when in the other of said posimovement between an operativeposition and an intions disengaging and releasing the contacts, andoperative position, 7

means on said housing coupled to the support mema detent on each of saidcontacts ber for moving said member between the first and a retainer foreach of said contacts movable between second position. first and secondpositions, said retainers including a 7. A connector for beinginterconnected with a mating plurality of fingers engaging the detentsand locking connector, said connector including the combination of thecontacts in the insert when the retainer is in the an insert member ofinsulating material, first position, said fingers spreading away fromthe a sealing member of resiliently deformable material detents when theretainer moves into the second posidisposed adjacent said insert, tionto release the contacts.

a plurality of aligned openings in said members,

a contact disposed in said openings, each of said con- References Citedtacts having detents thereon,

a support member disposed adjacent the insert for UNITED STATES PATENTSmovement between a first position adjacent the insert 2,619,515 11/ 1952Doane 339--94 and a second position remote from the insert, 2,700,140 1/1955 Phillips 339-94 a separate retainer on said support member for each2,963,536 12/1960 Kokalas 339-103 X of said contacts, said retainersextending into the 3,028,574 4/1962 Di Monte 339-2l7 X insert when thesupport member is in the first posi- 3,040,287 6/1962 Agron et a1.339-103 X tion to thereby engage the detents and lock the con- 3,066,27211/ 1962 Quackenbush 3392l7 X tacts in position, said retainers beingeffective to dis- 3,227,993 l/ 1966 Bentley 339--2l7 X engage thedetents and release the contacts when the 3,266,009 8/ 1966 Jensen et al33994 X support member is in the second position, and l means for movingthe support member between said MARVIN CHAMPION Examine]. positions andcompressing the sealing member. 8. A connector for being interconnectedwith a mating J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. connector, said connectorincluding the combination of

